Realms of the Haunting
by Bjrn Fallqvist
Summary: A summary of the story of the old eminent Gremlin game Realms of the Haunting. Do not read til you have finished the game, as it contains huge spoilers. Was written approximately two years ago.


Our universe, as we know if, does not only consist of our world, as many think, but in the beginning, The Four Worlds were created. These four are Heled - Also known as earth, Raquia - World of spirits, where Raysiel the demon of internment rules over imprisonment and freedom, Arqua - World of the divine, a paradise, and Sheol, which some may refer to as Hell, but which is not quite correct, since Sheol is only the Abode, the first layer of the seven layers of fire and darkness that exist there.

Connecting all of these worlds together is the place between and beyond; The Tower itself. In this Tower, there are Gardeners who guide unwary Travellers through the Place between Worlds, and also aid them in any way they can.

Holding all of these worlds together is The Soulstone, The One Stone which is the essence of all good and evil. From The Soulstone, evil and good minds and thoughts alike as well as their respective thoughts are gathered, and from these abstract beings, minions are created; demons by evil and vile beings, and what we know as angels from the good ones.

There is, however, a key to the soulstone; The Dragon Sword, also known as The Sword of Eternity, which has been stuck there, and it protects the balance of the whole universe as it does the soulstone.

Protecting the soulstone are also The Seven Seals, and if these should be broken, the world, but not just our world, but all worlds, would be plunged into the darkness which reside in The Pit, in the Seventh Layer of hell. Here dwells the manifestation of all the dark thoughts from the soulstone, lurking and biding its time.

And just as there is an ultimate evil power, so is there a manifestation of all good things, known as The Power of Light, although it is everywhere, in all places, in all times, unlike its counterpart.

But dark times are coming, and in fact they have been in work for almost seven hundred years now, and although a considerable time in man's eyes, a fraction in the eyes of the universe's ultimate powers.

A long time ago, just after the very creation of things, some men swore their souls to the light, to defend it with their lives and never let evil walk the earth. Even in the 14th century, they existed, but only a small fraction of their former might remained, and this fraction was known as The Falshire Knights, the last descendants of the blood of their ancestors who had sworn their oaths.

In these times, a sect had formed, called The Temple of The Morning Star, with its ultimate goal being to overthrow all good in the name of evil, and prepare for its path here on Heled.

And to do this, they needed to break the seals to the soulstone, which The Falshire Knights defended.

And thus, it came to battle, and despite their desperate fighting, the Templars overcame them, but not without much of their own blood spilled, and finally managed to wrestle the site of the Soulstone out of the Knights' hands, and the Knights were destroyed til the last man.

What they had found was not more than a portal to The Tower, from where Sheol could be reached, and in Sheol, also The Chamber of the Soulstone.

Upon the entering The Tower, they noticed something was very wrong within there, something vile, and soon they found out what it was.

It was The Ire, a cloud of devoured and tormented souls who had had the unfortunate of stepping into its path, its tantalizing and tortured voices whispering into every ear, seeping into every pore of their beings.

Also, The Gardeners were now gone, as if wiped from the surface down into the dark endless depths below the walkways of The Tower.

Almost all were, they soon realized, as many had instead been transformed into hideous beasts, creatures created by the vileness of The Ire.

But this was of little matter to them, once they had found a Minion by the name Gagiel, spawned from the Soulstone, who heeded their call to help them navigate The Tower, and he also helped them to avoid The Ire.

And once they were by The Soulstone in Sheol, Claude Florentine, the leader of the Temple, draw the sword of Eternity out from its place. All fires of hell raged around them and all templars except him and Belial, a spawn of Florentines actions and thoughts, perished in the chaos, but these two escaped barely with their lives.

Florentine was not to be stopped. He started a search for new acolytes, and soon the Temple was as strong and devoted as ever, and one by one, during hundreds of years, the seals have been broken.

And now, at this time, there are strong forces at work; in our world, and others.

And the stakes are higher than no man can possibly imagine.

What Florentine has done, has not only been to the dismay of his enemies and their allies, but also it to The Temple itself.

In the 17th century, he created a mysterious beast, known only as The Dodger. Not much is known about it, but it has ravaged, destroyed and killed, since it broke the grip of it's, now former, master Florentine. For centuries he has searched for the beast to destroy it, but so far has caught naught but air, during these centuries, it has wrecked havoc in The Tower itself, and has somehow managed to gain control of The Ire.

How this happened, no living being knows, but it is sure that it holds a hate no mortal man can even imagine towards it creator and slaver, and it has only proved this in its trail of destruction against the Temple.

This beast has also caused a burning hatred between Florentine and Belial. Once before the breaking of the sixth seal of The Soulstone, The Dodger had awaited them in The Tower, injuring many templars and also Belial very badly.

This may have been several hundred years ago, since the sixth seal was broken in 1783, but the rift and burning dismay between Belial and Florentine has only grown.

Once allies, now bitter enemies, but nevertheless, they still fight for the same goal, but no longer together, while both wishes to win the favour of their Dark Master.

The Last Rite for The Breaking of The Seventh Seal draws close, and when that happens, all we know will be plunged into darkness for a thousand years to come, while evil is manifested into an incarnation walking upon the damned and lost soil of Heled.

And now, the shell and body in which evil is said to manifest and use as a host, is believed to be walking these grounds in this very moment, only awaiting the Seventh Seal to be broken and let evil establish itself as the only constant power here for the next thousand years.


End file.
